Fusion of colours
PUSHPA CHARI
| The Madhubani exhibition is on till February 2. |
Vibrant: Lakshmi Devi with one of her paintings.
From ‘Dhuli Chitra’ or floor art to auspicious wall painting and expressions on handmade paper, to finally lending ‘designer charm’ to saris, dupattas and home furnishing, the folk art of Madhubani has had a long, colourful jo urney. Also known as ‘Mithila’ art, the wall painting of Madhubani originated in villages in Darbhanga district, Bihar, one of which was called ‘Madhubani.’ Done by women of the region the art generally features stories from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, depictions of marriages, ‘bidaai,’ ‘naming ceremonies’ and so on. A profusion of flowers, leafy trees and animals are also done in vibrant vegetable colours. Bright vermillion, orange, saffron, green and blue are typical Madhubani colours and ‘Raslila’ forms the favourite theme.
The human figures have typically elongated eyes, and possess the magic of folk fantasy while the animals have a peculiar dynamism and movement.
Attractive images
“Nobody taught me this art,” says Lakshmi Devi, a paramparik Madhubani artist from Bihar who has made Chennai her home. “I learnt by watching my mother and grand mother paint.” She has painted the walls of many homes in Chennai mainly with religious or floral and vine themes or stunning delicate toranams. At the moment, she is busy giving the finishing touches to a Madhubani paper panel depicting ‘chat’ puja. There is a sky blue Krishna surrounded by fantastic flowers while another panel depicts ‘ardhanariswara’ brilliantly conceived in Madhubani folk style. She casually tosses out compelling frames of Radhakrishna in eternal ‘ras lila,’ framed panels of poised animals and parrots as well as flowers in bloom, arranged in a manner reminiscent of Chinese paintings.
How does she go about creating a Madhubani panel? “I draw from my mind, from all the Hindu rituals and festivals I carry in my head. We extract colours from the juice of flowers and fruit, and sap from the bark of trees. We soak the bark and the flowers for two-three days, extract the juice and add chemicals and glue to it. And then I get to work, to fill in the colours. During festive occasions such as Diwali I have painted Rama’s homecoming over huge walls. We use vegetable colour for walls but fabric colour for textiles and poster colour for painting on paper…,” she explains.
Lakshmi Devi herself has taught the art form to many people in her village. Her daughters too are proficient in it and carry the tradition forward.
Lakshmi Devi’s work is showcased at the National Arts and Crafts Exhibition currently on at Sri Sankara Hall, TTK Road, Tynampet, Chennai.
The exhibition is on view till February 2.
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